Soldiers recount true story behind ’12 Strong’ | Military Times

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, there were three key stories that described the resolve of the American people, according to retired Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland.

The first had to do with the victims of the attack themselves. The men and women aboard hijacked airliners who fought to save others and the many people working in New York and Washington who, amid the devastation of the attacks, put their own lives at risk to save others.

The second story, Mulholland said, is of first responders who ran towards flames, knowing they may not return.

The third story, he said, has largely gone untold.

But that’s changing, with the release of a new Warner Bros. movie, “12 Strong,” that depicts the actions of the first Special Forces soldiers to enter Afghanistan in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks.

Those soldiers were given a broad mission, to defeat the Taliban and render Afghanistan unsafe for terrorists.